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THROWBACK THURSDAY: WEIRD, WILD AND LOST IN THE 80’S

June 8, 2017 | 9:10 PM
in COLUMNS, HISTORY
15

Stephen Harmon sent us more of his great shots of the Upper West Side in the 1980’s:

The G Spot Deli in the background:

Diana Ross in Central Park:

See more of Steve’s shots here, here and here.

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Diane
Diane
8 years ago

Are you sure that tiny diner was on Amsterdam? There was a wonderful tiny place on Columbus and it was between what was then O’Neal Bros Bar and a liquor store…breakfast every Saturday.

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Mark
Mark
8 years ago

How the Upper West Side should be

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lynn
lynn
8 years ago
Reply to  Mark

Including the homeless person standing next to the sign advertising a moving company’s low rates?

I do love the photo of the little girl in the dress playing on the corner. I never see children playing outside (other than school yards) anymore.

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Ethan
Ethan
8 years ago
Reply to  lynn

What in the world makes you certain the person in that photo is homeless?

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lynn
lynn
8 years ago
Reply to  Ethan

I also thought it was a homeless person. Maybe not, but it’s clearly a disheveled man wearing a woman’s coat and carrying a torn suitcase. I wasn’t living on the UWS at the time but I knew several homeless people on the UES during this time who are still there today. It would be interesting to know what became of all of the people in these photos.

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lynn
lynn
8 years ago
Reply to  lynn

I meant, I thought it was a homeless person…I should type by hand instead of using dictation. :/

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Sid
Sid
8 years ago

Wonderful eye, Steve! Capsules in time…

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ScooterStan
ScooterStan
8 years ago
Reply to  Sid

Re: “Capsules in time…”

Yup, take two capsules while playing “Those Were the Days” (theme-song from Norman Lear’s “All In the Family)…. and call your Nostalgist in the morning.

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yoyomama
yoyomama
8 years ago

Those are great!

Funny, for a long time I’ve been trying to convince someone that the UWS street signs used to be yellow (before they were brown, meaning landmark status) but had no proof. Now I can point to that top photo.

Speaking of which: anyone else remember that restaurant owned by Baryshnikov on Columbus Ave in the low 70’s called Columbus? The marquee was a big yellow street sign that said Columbus.

Thanks again for these pics! love it!

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Sherry
Sherry
8 years ago

Brings back so many memories. My grandfather had a men’s clothing store on the corner of 96 & Broadeay for years; Jacks Menswear. Then my father opened a hippy store next door in the late 70’s. He sold landlubber jeans and dashikis, fringe vests; always look for pictures of the stores in the background.

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Leon
Leon
8 years ago

Great pictures – thanks – they bring back many memories. The photo of the G Spot Deli has to be at least late 1982 as that is when USA Today was founded (see the newspaper box in the background)

Is the person in the red coat with a hat a woman or a man dressed as a woman – hard to tell. I don’t care – just curious.

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Stuart
Stuart
8 years ago

Diana Ross in Central Park – before the riot started.

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Scott
Scott
8 years ago

Apthorp “laundramat.” Well now that’s interesting.

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B.B.
B.B.
8 years ago

Apthorp laundromat:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1971/02/20/laundromat

At one time there was a long list of service businesses named “Apthorp”.

Apthorp Garage – 216 West 80th Street. Still there but now “Central Garage”

https://collections.mcny.org/Collection/%5BApthorp%20Garage,%20216%20West%2080th%20Street.%5D-2F3XC5IAFB46.html

Apthorp Pharmacy, still around in the same location since 1910.

https://www.apthorprx.com/

The Apthorp Hairdressers, this one eludes me.

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naro
naro
7 years ago

UWS in the 1980. The hell hole that it was before Giuliani cleaned up the corruption and criminality of the Koch regime. Upper Waste Side was dirty and dangerous, and totally unattractive in the 1980’s. Only Giuliani and a strong Wall Street brought it back to life.

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